Despite pressure from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte has not backed down from her city’s new ordinance, which would charge locals a fee for entering a new Bloomberry casino in the city. In a press statement sent to CalvinAyre.com, PAGCOR continues to argue Belmonte has crossed a line.

As has become their habit, PAGCOR continues to point to legal precedent of what will happen if Belmonte forces a court case. This new statement points to three court decisions that they believe will foreshadow a loss for Quezon City, if the ordinance isn’t repealed first.

In the 1991 case of ‘Basco vs. PAGCOR,’ the court ruled that PAGCOR’s charter gives them the sole right to set taxes and fees for gambling operations. Cities can only tax up to the limitations of what the national congress allows. This should remove the ability of Quezon City to impose its local fee.

Then to add on to that, they cite the 1994 ruling of ‘City of Cagayan de Oro vs. Pryce and PAGCOR,’ where the court determined that municipal governments are only agents of the national government, and “cannot be superior to Congress from which they derive their powers.”